This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I haven't been dx with MS but I have had some very troubling symptoms that I believe may be linked to MS. In any case I've never had too many issues with vision aside from seeing flashes, or an occasional hue, and increased floaters... irritating but nothing too scary.

But lately, I have noticed the vision out of my left eye is pretty blurry. Up until now I have had perfect vision, but I'm having trouble seeing certain things especially at night. When I close my right eye I cannot see very far at all in my left eye and it has trouble adjusting.

Should I tell me doctor about this? If it is MS, how long will this last? IF not, what could it be?

you could look into whether it might make sense for your zinc levels to be down. there could be a number of reasons.

zinc is low in ms-ers, and your body needs zinc in order to get retinol to places that need it, such as eyes.

zinc tends to be low in ms patients.. but why be like us if you aren't labeled with the dx yet?

Do you have any pain is the left eye? Is your vision just blurry or also grainy/hazy? Can you be more specific on your vision history? Is this a sudden or gradual change? How old are you?

Eye Doc,

I am a 27 YO male. Perfect vision history. Normally I have better than 20/20 vision and I have never needed glasses.

It started maybe a week ago? My vision started to get distorted and I noticed it was because of my left eye, my right eye is fine. When I close my right eye I can't even see the writing on the screen. Things like road signs are nearly impossible to decipher. Again, my right eye is fine I can see like I normally can.

I get a lot of blurriness out of my eye, no real graininess as you say. And yet I get periodic stabbing eye pain... mostly out of my left eye but I get it in both eyes. I also get flashes, sometimes see "stars", and I see strange "hues" especially on lighly colored objects like white walls. I have also noticed I have a tremendous amount of floaters in my vision, but I assume that is probably normal.

Any idea of what this could be? Is it ON or am I just crazy?

You are not crazy!

We can have sudden changes in vision for many reasons, and the way you describe your symptoms I would not think optic neuritis first, but it can be a possibility. Often times I have patients that have perfect vision in both eyes begin to notice that one eye is no longer perfect. It can be that they simply never realized they had blur in one eye because they never covered the other eye. In your case, because you have been noticing an increase in floaters in your left eye I would definitely recommend having your vision checked by a doc as soon as you can.

Pain behind both eyes is known as asthenopia and we often don't know why it happens. As long as the health checks okay it is usually nothing to worry about, but to know for sure you need to have a complete examination.

What would be a clearer signal that it is Optic Neuritis and not something else? I just want to know what to do going forward, I've gone to the doctor before and they all tell me I am fine. But all my symptoms have increased in severity I don't want to spend a ton of time and energy and loads of money all to be told I am fine again.

If I have MS I want to know. If not, I want to know what I do have. Before I was told that just having tingly symptoms in my legs weren't a sign of MS, that most people first have vision problems. Well now I do have vision problems, which makes me think it might be a possibility. But again, if it's not worth pursuing I'm just going to leave it alone.

is your night vision as good as ever, jml?

No, it's really bad. Why?

because in that case i would even more urgently suggest that you ask your doc for some lab work on vitamin a and zinc.

low vit a = crappy night vision.

if your zinc level is low, your body can't use vitamin a properly, so that affects the eyes too.

can you tell me a little bit about your diet and lifestyle? any reason to think that these suspect nutrients could be low in your particular case?

i know the general societal reasons (high phytate modern diets = poor zinc bioavailability), but if there were some additional red flags in your case, that could make it even more justifiable to get some testing done. especially considering your other problems with numbness and such.

JL

are any of those vitamin defiency levels connected to MS or other similar diseases?

many of the symptoms of ms are similar to symptoms of vitamin (or other nutrient) deficiency. in fact one of the first tests doctors are supposed to do in determining whether or not you have ms, is to test your vitamin b12 level.

various nutrients that have been found to be low in MS patients include:

vitamin b-complex
vitamin d3
vitamin e

magnesium
zinc
selenium

essential fatty acids (DHA, EPA)

uric acid (a powerful antioxidant, produced by a healthy liver)

many of the TIMS members have reported improvements in various symptoms when starting dietary or supplement regimens.

i'm adding some links to this message for some 'light reading' to give you more background on nutrition and ms, and if you have any more questions, feel free.

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

Classic signs of optic neuritis would be pain in the eye, especially with eye movement, blurred vision, and decreased color vision. Also these signs would worsen with heat or exercise.

A further sign that would really only be observable by your eye doctor is a problem with pupil function in the affected eye.